How SeoSamba’s Franchise Marketing Operating System (FMOS) Helps Both Franchisors and Franchisees

In 2008, SEO and IT industry veteran Michel Leconte recognized that search engines were becoming more important than ever, but no one offered a scalable and automated SEO service platform. To create a solution, Michel launched SeoSamba, a company that helps franchises, web store owners and enterprises build, manage, market and optimize websites for top search engine performance. 

FMOS by SeoSamba lets franchisors manage SEO, social networking and online marketing for their franchisees across any number of websites through a single cloud-based interface, while the open source front-end SeoToaster allows them to build, manage and market corporate, directories and e-commerce websites, as well as automate sales through its built-in CRM.

The Importance of Domain Optimization

Search engines reward content that is segmented across a number of domains because links spread across root domains suggest high-quality content. That means franchise networks are uniquely well-positioned to create outstanding search performances if they can successfully leverage their footprint in the digital space.

Unfortunately, there are only a few platforms that can scale efforts across multiple, geographically dispersed domains while permitting central-management. That is where FMOS by SeoSamba comes in — to take a complicated process and make it simple for franchisors. 

“There's dogma in the franchise industry, incumbents don’t mind it, as it perpetuates their advantage” said Leconte. “Right now, emerging brands are not prioritizing a robust digital strategy — they are just adding an additional page on the website when a new owner comes on board. That means franchisors are not getting the full benefit out of their increased footprint. We have the framework that will let brands take advantage of that growing footprint, maximize their SEO potential and reap the benefits of being a franchise in the digital world the same way they do in the physical world.”

Franchisors rely on FMOS by SeoSamba to seamlessly deploy websites in subfolders, subdomains and stand-alone domains across territories as required by the business. Plus, with superior link distribution and improved geo-targeting, emerging franchisors can garner top mobile and local lead generation performances both domestically and internationally.

“We are the franchise industry’s most complete digital solution for both franchise marketing and franchise sales,” said Leconte. 

How FMOS by SeoSamba Optimizes Franchise Marketing

So, how does FMOS by SeoSamba do it? SeoSamba’s Franchise Marketing Operating System is a plug-and-play, client-side system that helps franchisors dominate franchise marketing and provide digital marketing support for all franchisees. The marketing automation platform allows franchisors to centrally publish and localize a search engine-optimized network of websites built on SeoToaster and/or WordPress. Franchisors can also centrally publish and localize blog posts, content, apps, email newsletters and social posts.

“We offer a single post, multiple distribution control center so that franchisors can manage their franchisees’ online presence in one single space,” said Leconte. “Brands receive a comprehensive view and instant access to all managed websites, projects and customers. Our solution allows franchisors to customize their features, re-deploy their websites and edit their content quickly and smoothly on a user-friendly and cost-effective online marketing framework.” 

For example, franchisors can post directly to all social accounts across their system, while making templates available to franchisees, so that they can in turn post using them from their own desktop, Android or iPhone mobile apps. Franchisors and franchisees can also invite marketing service providers to the platform in order to provide content for the group. 

In addition, FMOS by SeoSamba also has the ability to power a franchisor’s system of e-commerce sites and help decide which online business model is right for the brand. 

“Without the right digital framework, emerging brands are simply not going to be able to dominate the space,” said Leconte. “Managing separate domains on the franchise network doesn't bring optimal benefits, and there is no platform that exists out there to solve this problem. Built on our own hub and open source technology, we use a W3C and American Disability Act certified compliant website build quality process combined with our integrated strategic SEO and marketing services to deliver smarter turnkey websites that yield results.”

FMOS by SeoSamba also allows franchisors to compare marketing service provider performances and offers a baseline of shareable best practices that can be built upon. For franchisors who are tired of assembling an array of software solutions without a real plan for the future, FMOS can steer the brand onto a new trajectory within 30 days and help build a digital roadmap.

The best part? FMOS by SeoSamba can do it all through its white-glove managed services for a fraction of the franchisor’s current software cost.

“It’s difficult to make things simple,” said Leconte. “That’s why we created this plug-and-play solution with our franchise marketing operating system. We’ve created a new definition of SEO: See Everything Online. FMOS by SeoSamba offers one login and a total solution for emerging franchise brands.”

How FMOS by SeoSamba Optimizes Franchise Development

Instead of paying for an expensive franchise sales CRM license, an emerging brand can receive it as part of their FMOS by SeoSamba services package and for a fraction of the cost of all the other franchise CRM solutions in the market. As the ideal CRM for emerging franchisors, SeoSamba’s franchise sales CRM edition allows brands to track engagement, automate follow-ups and reach prospects more efficiently.

“Primarily, we work with emerging brands as they come in and create a franchise sales CRM,” said Leconte. “When we deal with emerging brands, many of them are looking for more units or franchisees. We say, well, we want to give you your own channel for driving leads in the digital world.”

SeoSamba's Franchise Sales CRM Edition features pre-built forms and a full franchisee acquisition funnel, including profile, finance, real estate, compliance and contract signing. It also offers a ready-to-use franchise sales website where franchisors can just plug-in their own content. Alternatively, franchisors can deploy SeoSamba’s forms, call-tracking numbers and analytics on their existing development websites or take advantage of the built-in landing page builder. The CRM comes with a powerful mobile app as well.

“We deliver an extremely affordable solution that results in highly-qualified leads coming to a brands website,” said Leconte. “The main goal is to essentially build the foundation of an acquisition strategy for sales development through a comprehensive website and CRM platform.” 

The Franchise Sales CRM Edition also helps franchisors predict which leads are most likely to convert and build powerful workflows to automate actions. For example, the franchise sales CRM allows franchisors to automate workflows and leverage contact activity triggers to ensure relevant SMS messaging and a high conversion rate, as well as automate social calendars and digital marketing. The CRM also removes prospects from previous communication sequences as they move through the sales funnel.

SeoToaster CRM and the SeoSamba Cloud Franchise Marketing Operating System integrate flawlessly together, allowing FMOS to create search engine optimization for the franchise development website as well. It also allows franchisors to distribute news, enables management of all social media networks to create affiliation and referral opportunities, all from one centralized location. FMOS by SeoSamba also aggregates digital marketing key performance indicators and alerts franchisors every time opportunities arise such as when a hot prospect visits your website.

With this holistic approach to digital franchise marketing and sales, FMOS by SeoSamba is the perfect, one-stop-shop solution for emerging franchise brands looking to optimize their digital strategy.